A portable communication device such as a cellular telephone typically has two modes of operation. In one mode, the device is carried within a vehicle, and draws power from the vehicle source of power, and utilizes an antenna attached to the vehicle. In the other mode, the device is separated from the vehicle is hand carried to a place of use, while drawing on a portable source of power and having its own portable antenna. This creates a need for disconnecting and interconnecting the device from an antenna for transmission and reception.
Connectors for carrying RF energy capable of switching between RF ports are known. In the European Patent Application Publication Number 0 393 670, filed Apr. 19, 1990, there is disclosed an electrical connector for connecting electrical cable having multiple signal carrying conductors to provide a shielded bus for a local area network. The cable and connector are coaxial in nature and include an internal switch that interconnects RF paths when a mating connector is plugged in to engage such switch. When the mating connector is withdrawn, the contacts close to a resistor connecting the now unused port to the shielding structure of the connector.
It is also known to provide a segmented construction for electrical connectors and Pat. No. 4,687,446 granted Aug. 18, 1987 teaches such a structure. There, a coaxial device for handling RF energy allows tapping into a coaxial line through a structure having at least three ports, two in line and one operating as a T tap. There also, metallic shell elements and dielectric core elements are made in pieces which fit together to provide the necessary coaxial and shielded connector structure.
The present invention has as an object the provision of an improved coaxial RF connector switch. A further object is the provision of a connector switch structure which is capable of transmitting RF energy in a shielded structure of few parts which are readily assembled. Still a further object is to provide a simple and reliable device for supporting an antenna and selectively interconnecting such antenna to a coaxial port.